Meet Johanna (“Yohanna) (and her parrots, the slender-billed cockatoo Lila, and the Galah Zym.) (And yes, they do talk: the white and coral parrot asks for banana chips, and the grey parrot constantly asks “what’s going on?”).

• How do you work with faculty and students in your current role at the UW Tacoma Library? As an Instruction and Research Services Librarian and a liaison to the School of Education and SIAS’ PPPA, I teach information literacy classes, have one on one consultations with students, and in general see it as my job to connect people to the information they need and empower them to learn the skills to do so. I absolutely adore that I get to run two campus book clubs with my colleague Alaina Bull and partners in the CEI, the Center for Student Involvement, and the Staff Association. Staff Reads and Real Lit are my jam!
• What drew you to working in libraries?   When I was an adult trying to reshape my career, I initially thought about spaces in the world where I feel content. It was easy for me to point to libraries and museums.  As I learned more, however, and began working in community college and college libraries, my love for libraries as spaces morphed into my love for libraries as sites for information literacy and learning. I relish my interactions with students, and really enjoy working with them on their awesome research projects.
• What parts of your job are you most excited about?  As I alluded to earlier, working with students makes my world go round. I get to learn about their passions and support their career growth and lifelong learning. My heart lies with Staff Reads and Real Lit, the two book clubs. I find that the authenticity that folks bring to these spaces is humbling and creates spaces of learning.
• How has your job shifted because of COVID-19? We’ve been able to add drop-in hours, and the book clubs are fully online. I’ve had to shift to buy electronic copies of books, which is usually a lot more expensive than print. That means some hard decisions about what to buy.
• Have you read or watched anything good lately? Schitt’s Creek has made me very, very happy. And Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch and Akata Warrior may be the best speculative fiction/fantasy I’ve read in a decade.
• Any advice for UWT students? Believe in yourselves. The work you do now matters. Some assignments feel like hoops to jump through, but you will connect with an idea, a professor, a book, or a discipline, and you will find your passion and your career.  We are here to support you in any way we can!